Curated OER
What is a Philanthropist?
What does a philanthropist do? Help your class explore philanthropy using character development and literacy ideas. Learners will define and give examples of philanthropy, listen to The Lion and the Mouse, discuss how the characters help...
Curated OER
Columbus: Hero or Villain?
Learners explore Christopher Columbus's motives. In this character education lesson, students research Internet and print sources regarding the life and actions of Christopher Columbus in order to write essays that his actions as the...
EngageNY
Planning Ideas: Developing a Colonial Character Profile
The second instructional activity in a historical fiction series encourages pupils to develop a character profile of a colonial person using research acquired in the previous unit. Learners prepare their historical fiction narrative by...
Curated OER
Homelessness
Take a close look at homelessness with your learners. For this character development lesson, young artists draw a large pair of sunglasses, adding their family and pictures representing their belongings and values on the left lens,...
Curated OER
Creating Character: Courage
Learners explore the concept of courage, both in themselves and in others. In this history and character education lesson, students discuss the characteristics of courage and what it means and how one can show it. Learners listen to...
Curated OER
Charging Redchief
Read and analyze the novel, Ransom of Redchief. They identify the elements of character development, and participate in a mock trial, creating the witnesses through the use of character development.
Curated OER
Interpreting Dramatic Works
Action! Delve into character development in the play Fences by August Wilson, setting the stage for learners to analyze character nuances. Thespians choose a scene from the script, responding with a written account of the...
Curated OER
What Makes a Hero?
Learners identify the characteristics of a hero. In this character development and writing lesson, students listen to music with a hero theme and discuss the common traits of heroes. Learners explore individuals and charitable...
Curated OER
Respect
Investigate "respect" with your class. They will participate in a think/share activity in which they complete sentence starters about their personal experience with "respect." Then they view a video clip in which Holocaust survivors...
Curated OER
Sticks and Stones
Students explore bullying. In this character development lesson, students discuss verbal and nonverbal bullying. Using the "sticks and stones" adage, students write a sentence describing a hurtful act on a gray piece of paper,...
Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary
What Ben Read
Just what did Ben Franklin read? By juxtaposing Ben Franklin’s reading material as a young man with an analysis of his developed ideas, learners gain the opportunity to see how the influences of his youthful reading played out. Roman,...
Curated OER
Character Traits
Explore character traits using this resource. After reading the story Goldilocks and the Three Bears, learners fill in a graph identifying character traits. Then, they write and put on a skit. This resource provides a motivating way to...
Curated OER
Co-Operation: Drama
For some schools, character-counts lessons are a big part of the curriculum. This resource focuses on following directions and the importance of being a cooperative team player. Learners role-play a variety of situations by being...
Curated OER
Through the Looking Glass: Recognizing Developing and Industrialized Countries
Students examine the regions of the world, and identify the basic characteristics of industrialized and developing countries. They conduct Internet research on the economic and population characteristics of industrialized and developing...
MENSA Education & Research Foundation
Intensities in the Classroom
Everyone learns and experiences life differently. A set of lessons about character intensities encourages middle and high schoolers to analyze themselves, their peers, and characters from a book based on the five listed intensities:...
Curated OER
Defining Character, With Help from History
In a single, soundly-designed class period, high schoolers define good character, think-pair-share about thought-provoking quotes on character (More options would enhance the discussion, worth searching online for other quotes to add.),...
Curated OER
Self Discipline: Building Character
There is not a clear purpose for this resource. It seems to be partly an exploration of self-discipline and a discussion of the myth The Dancing Horses of Sybaris. If a class was studying this myth, it could be altered, and corrected in...
Curated OER
Growing in Character
Students explore how to build their character by respecting and appreciating various cultures. In this character education activity, students read the book Seedfolks and answer questions based on the character's cultural backgrounds....
DePaul University
The Football Team
Playing team sports is about more than just scoring the most goals or winning the most games. Read this passage with your class and learn how athletes build character as members of a team. When finished, individuals identify the main...
Curated OER
Stop, Think, Go!
Show this presentation to your young scholars at the beginning of the school year and they'll know just what to do when they are having a hard time making good decisions. This resource asks students to remember to use their own personal...
Curated OER
Using Literature to Teach Bullying
Students explore signs and types of bullying. In this "building character" lesson, students listen to several read alouds based on a bully theme. Four groups are formed to discuss "gossip", "exclusion", "physical bullying", and "verbal...
Curated OER
Calm in the Classroom
Students explore conflict resolution. In this character development lesson, students decorate paper plates to use as puppets. Students role play scenarios in which classroom problem solving is practiced.
Curated OER
Character Education Podcasts
Students study character traits. In this character education lesson, students create podcasts highlighting a particular character trait. Students broadcast one podcast per week.
Curated OER
Helping Others
Students explore community service. In this character development and community instructional activity, students sing a song based on the fable The Lion and the Mouse. Students participate in a discussion about kindness, and...